Balgarianovinite.com On May 1, 1966, at around 11.20 am, the wall of the tailings dam of the Plakalnitsa zinc and lead mine, located above the village of Zgorigrad (Vratsa Municipality), collapsed.
Some 450,000 cubic meters of mud and water, mixed with heavy metals, cyanides, stones, and trees, poured down the bed of the Leva River. A wave over three meters high flooded Zgorigrad, sweeping away one-third of the village’s houses. The flood passed through the Vratsata Gorge and reached the old and densely populated Kemera district in Vratsa, while the city square was covered with about 20 centimeters of silt.
Initially, the official reports stated just over 100 victims, but it later became clear that more than 500 people had died. More than 2,000 were injured, and over 150 houses were destroyed.
Among the likely causes of the disaster were heavy rains and melting snow, which damaged the channel diverting the river, built over the tailings facility. It is also believed that the collapse of the dam was accelerated by water infiltration into the interior of the waste deposit.
In 2025, on May 1, the Regional History Museum in Vratsa presented an exhibition of over 40 archival photographs revealing the scale of the 1966 flood in Vratsa and the village of Zgorigrad. May 1, 1966: Mud Flood Leaves 500 Dead in Vratsa and Zgorigrad Village 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-01 11:07:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
